Cryptocurrency prices have always been roller coasters, and some rides are scarier than others.However, there may not be much difference in price volatility between the top two coins in the coming months, a key metric indicates.

The spread between the three-month at-the-money implied volatility for ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC), a measure of expected relative volatility between the two, declined to 8.9 percent Friday, according to the crypto derivatives research firm Skew. It was the lowest level since Dec. 5.

Implied volatility is the markets expectation of how risky or volatile an asset would be over a specific period. It is computed using the prices of an option and the underlying asset and other inputs such as time to expiration.

The compression of this spread implies that cryptocurrencies' fortunes are tied more strongly than before to each other. But the force driving them together could be the turmoil in the mainstream financial markets, due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The market is macro-driven and does not expect a lot of dispersion between the different coins and anticipates a convergence of ether and bitcoin price volatility, said Emmanuel Goh, CEO of Skew.

Volatility essentially represents uncertainty and has a positive impact on option prices. The higher the uncertainty, the stronger the hedging demand is for both call (bullish bet) and put (bearish bet) options.

However, it does not tell us anything about the direction of the next move. High implied volatility simply means the underlying asset has the potential for big price swings in either direction.

The ether-bitcoin implied volatility differential topped out at a record high of 33 percent on Feb. 22 and has been falling ever since.

Option-implied volatilities are driven by the net buying pressure for options and historical volatility, said Lukk Strijers, chief operating officer at cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Deribit.

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Ether and other alternative cryptocurrencies were outperforming bitcoin in February. Bitcoins dominance rate, or share of total market capitalization, had declined to a seven-month low of 62.58 percent on Feb. 24.

Hence, it's no surprise that, in February, markets were anticipating a higher ether price volatility compared to bitcoin.

The increase in investor interest in ether led to a rise in ether-bitcoin implied volatility spread, Strijers said.

The situation changed in March, as macro factors became the focal point, diverting attention from altcoins to bitcoin a safe haven from global turbulence, at least according to its proponents, and a benchmark for crypto markets.

However, instead of rising, bitcoin fell sharply in tandem with stocks, as the demand for cash, mainly U.S. dollars, surged amid the coronavirus-led uncertainty in the financial markets.

The bellwether cryptocurrency tanked by nearly 40 percent on March 13.

The massive drop resulted in a relatively larger increase in bitcoins implied volatility versus ethers implied volatility, causing the spread to narrow, Strijers told CoinDesk.

In this way, the ether-bitcoin implied volatility differentials drop to multi-month lows is indicative of a macro-driven market.

Another reason bitcoin faces heightened volatility over the next three months, as suggested by the ether-bitcoin implied volatility spread, is the cryptocurrencys next mining reward halving, expected in May.

A lot has been said about the potential impact on bitcoins price of the upcoming 50 percent emission cut. Most experts are of the opinion that the drop in the pace of supply expansion will bode well for the price. As a result, investor interest in bitcoin is likely to remain high compared to ether.

Further, the coronavirus pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down and is threatening to push the global economy into a prolonged recession. Again, the macro uncertainty would keep the focus on bitcoin.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Ether-Bitcoin Price Volatility Spread Hits 4-Month Low - CoinDesk

Bitcoin looks to be on the brink of a major breakout as it coils up just beneath the crucial $7,000 level of resistance.

The test of $7,000 comes after a volatile trading session that saw Bitcoin surge from $6,600 to $7,300 before being met with a substantial sell-off.

Bearish pressure eventually pushed price back below $6,800, although a bounce this morning has lifted it back into a bullish posture.

If Bitcoin can close Fridays daily candle and Sundays weekly candle above $7,150 it would confirm a bullish breakout, which would pave the way towards continuation to the upside.

Potential targets begin to emerge at both $7,400 and $7,850 if a breakout is to come into fruition, while a rejection from this point would likely see Bitcoin slide back to the $6,200 level of support.

Bitcoins recent bullish behaviour has led speculators to question whether next months halving event has already been priced in by traders, or whether it will rally this month in anticipation.

The block reward halving will see rewards for miners cut from 12.5BTC per block to 6.25BTC per block, thus reducing supply of Bitcoin coming onto the market.

While this has historically been a positive event for Bitcoin it could take a turn for the worse if the theory of miner capitulation rears its head.

The theory states that if Bitcoin drops to surprising lows, miners will be forced to shut up shop and cut losses as they wont be able to cover overheads, electricity and loan repayments.

If a large section of the mining pools exit the market it will make the Bitcoin blockchain far less secure, increasing the risk of a 51% attack.

As Bitcoin moves into the typically low-volume weekend there are a couple of key levels to look out for. As previously stated breaking above $7,150 would be extremely bullish in the short-term with price targets at $7,650 and above $8,000.

However, failure to make a new high would indicate a clear lack of bullish momentum, which could be the trigger for a continued downtrend to test yearly lows.

The key level of support to look out for is $5,900, which has been established over the past two years, notably during the 2018 bear market

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Bitcoin on the brink of major bullish breakout - Yahoo Finance

Its tough times ahead for BCH as Bitcoin.com prepares to work on a skeleton team. Just five days before the halving, the platform has allegedly fired half of its staff.

Theres been a ton of speculation leading up to the Bitcoin Halving over what will happen if the price doesnt recover. In fact, after the savage sell-off last month that hammered all markets, the Bitcoin network adjusted its mining difficulty from 16.55TN to 13.91TN on March 26.

Bitcoinist reported last week that many miners began to move away from Bitcoin Cash to mine BTC instead. It seems that the miner capitulation from its network may have affected BCH badly.

Its price may be following a similar recovery right now in line with the leading cryptocurrency, but its creators and advocates arent sending out very bullish signs.

Tech professional network Candor compiled a list of companies that are either freezing hiring due to the coronavirus or that have actively laid off staff. According to its findings, not only is Bitcoin.com freezing on hiring but it has actually axed half its team.

Bitcoinist was able to reach out and speak to sources familiar with the matter. They confirmed that the numbers sounded accurate.

It should be noted that Bitcoin.com isnt the only company to be trimming costs. Bitfury is apparently also letting employees go and Ripple has currently imposed a hiring freeze.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. However, a downscaling of such magnitude doesnt bode well for any companynot least one that is a protocol as well. Bitcoin Cash may be bigger than Bitcoin.com and larger than Roger Ver. But with miners already jumping ship before the BCH halving and such grim news to come out of this camp, the future of BCH looks a little uncertain.

What do you make of the Bitcoin.com lay-offs? Add your thoughts below!

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @WhalePanda

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Bitcoin.com Fires 50% of Staff Ahead of BCH Halving - Bitcoinist

Yuri Molchan

As Bitcoin is now about to retest the $7,000 level after hitting it on Thursday, traders are expecting BTC to break through and hit $7,400-$7,600

On Thursday, April 2, Bitcoin hit the $7,082 price mark giving the markethope for a bullish continuation. However, BTC plunged back to $6,779 later on.

As BTC has recovered to $6,914 at the time of writing, traders are making bullish bets on BTC going over$7,600 and assuming it could hit $8,900 after that.

Trader George tweetedthat hourly and four-hour candles closed strong and now he is targetingthe $7,600 level.

However, later on, he tweeted that the $6,800 is the key for now. Unless BTC falls below that, the price could retest the yearly open level in the $7,200 area.

If BTC breaks below the $6,600 zone, bulls will be in trouble, as per George.

Nik Patel, a trader andauthor of An Altcoin Traders Handbook', says heshorted BTC when it reached $6,960. Now,he expects the digital gold to decline to 5,820.

Shorted $BTC at 6960, stop at 7410 and looking for 5820. Right now this looks like a retest of double-top resistance at 6990 after a swing-failure of those highs and rejection at yearly open.

Trader and technical analyst Nicola Duke Crown expects Bitcoin to break above the $7,175 mark today and then head towards much higher levels - $8,500-$8,900.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Targets $7,600 with Chance to Hit $8,900 Later - U.Today

Alex Dovbnya

Bitcoin is struggling to decouple from traditional assets during the coronavirus-driven crisis, but its long-term correlations remain low, according to VanEck

According to a new report published byVanEck'sGabor Gurbacs, Bitcoin's correlation to gold has reached 'levels never seen before' due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Gurbacs states that it hints at the cryptocurrency's increasingsafe-haven that was called into question during the most recent sell-off.

As trading vet John Bollinger explained, all assets are highly correlated during such black swan events. Meanwhile, cold hard cash becomes king since it is viewed as the only flight to safety.

As reported by U.Today, Bitcoin's correlations with U.S. equities also recently hit a new all-time high. Bitcoin has been struggling to decouple from the stock market since the start of the coronavirus-driven sell-off.

On Apr. 2, BTC spiked to nearly $7,300on the looming oil war truce but quickly shed its gains.

Still, despite the coronavirus-induced liquidity squeeze, Gurbacs concludes that long-term correlations with traditional assets remain rather low. This means that investors could consider adding BTC to their portfolios for diversification purposes.

In fact, it has been estimated a small amount of BTC could significantly decrease the volatility of thetraditional 60/40 portfolio that consists of stocks and bonds.

Notably,theVanguard Balanced Index Fundhas slumped 22 percent from its 2020 high, which greatly exceeds Bitcoin's 10 percent yearly loss.

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Bitcoin's Safe-Haven Status Is Not Dead as Correlation to Gold Reaches New Highs: Report - U.Today